Different state and federal groups and agencies help and assist each other in the task of ensuring the safety and well-being of all American citizens in the area of health care. These groups and agencies include:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which sees to the safety and effectivity of drugs before approving their use in treating patients;

The Institute for Safe Medication Practices (ISMP) and the United States Pharmacopeia (USP) which help ensure safety against medication errors, as well as minimize the risk of these; and,

State medical boards, which ensure that doctors and all those concerned with medical care meet the minimum standards required to be considered competent enough in treating patients;

In spite of these organizations’ efforts and the standard of safety that pharmaceutical companies are required to observe, so many types of drugs still continue to cause adverse effects which cause more serious harm in patients instead of the cure they need and seek.

It could be due to the lack of proper tests that ought to extensively and fully determine the effectivity of a certain drug, as well as its safety to whoever it may be prescribed to. Many drugs in the past have been issued a black box warning by the FDA (this is the most serious warning the FDA can issue) or have been recalled by their respective manufacturer due to the serious harm or death that these have been linked to. And, following these serious harm to patients are the thousands of lawsuits, which have cost many pharmaceutical firms millions of dollars in settlement claims.

McCutchen & Sexton – The Law Firm believes that failure to ensure the total safety of a drug is a serious negligent act that can result to severe personal injuries. Under the law, victims of personal injuries have the legal right to receive from liable parties, or companies, compensation to whatever present and future damages they will suffer due to injuries caused by unsafe or harmful drugs.